Posts Tagged ‘Loss’
Memory Loss: What Is Usual And What Is Not
Posted by Parkzone Corsair in Business on August 31st, 2010
According to the psychologists, we tend to forget the things that we actually want to forget. But this is not always the case. Sometimes we can not remember things that we ought to. Like the other day I was not being able to recall where I placed the duplicate key of the house. With clenched teeth and closed eyes I desperately kept on searching in my mind where I could possibly placed it for the utmost safekeeping when my younger daughter accidentally bumped on it behind a volume of Encyclopedia Britannica on the book shelf. And it was inevitably followed by a roll of laughter and joking comments on my poor ability to remember the mundane things.
Forgetfulness is often viewed in the light of fun in the movies, in the story books and in our social interactions. But it may not always be as innocent as you think it to be. Little incidences involving forgetfulness which we shake off by laughing over it may actually be the indication of some complex problems of loss of memory. So you should no longer neglect this problem if you feel it is taking a serious turn and address it adequately to know whether there is any disorder taking place in your brain. Here are some information that may help you to understand the relation between our brain and memory.
Our brain has this amazing ability to store information in different parts of our memory. Memory can be classified into short term, long term or recent memories. The brain can store the information for a long time. As for instance just dive down into the remote memory lane and you are sure to find out the pieces of pictures associated with your childhood days.
Now as you progress in your age, the pattern of information storage of your brain also starts changing and it gradually becomes more difficult to recall stored information. As you reach the age of twenty, your brain starts to lose some of its cells and the body also does not produce the chemicals needed for brain work in the same amount as before. These changes affect the ways how you remember the things and the older you are, the more they affect your memory. While the short-term and remote memories remain unaffected by aging, recent memories may sometime betray you. As for example, at certain age we often tend to forget names of people we’ve met recently. Well, do not get panicked, these are only normal changes.
However, there may be some other causes than aging that may cause memory loss and they include depression, brain injury, effects of alcohol, illnesses, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and side effects of drugs.
So how do you differentiate between a normal memory loss and serious one? Well, memory loss may be the cause of alarm when it significantly disrupts your daily life. Forgetting names or words are just fine, but you should take alarm if you forget such things as a recipe that you have tried many a times before, or can not recall how to get to a place that you frequently visit and so on.
Remember, serious problems related to memory loss get worse over a short time. So if you feel, you are suffering from some memory related problems that are not usual, see a doctor immediately.
Barney Garcia writes about memory and memory loss. Visit: Memory Loss and Loss Memory Research Short Term.
Can Memory Loss Be Linked To Aspartame
Posted by Parkzone Corsair in Business on August 27th, 2010
New research presented at the November meeting of Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans suggests NutraSweet (or aspartame) could be linked to aspartame consumption. Researchers at a University in Fort Worth, Texas believe aspartame consumed in excess could cause certain kinds of memory loss.
Ninety students were studied and interviewed in one study. In this study their use of aspartame and memory problems were documented. The results, those that consumed aspartame regularly complained of forgetfulness related to various tasks they perform on a regular basis. They would forget to perform tasks at the time the tasks were scheduled to be performed. The students’ perceptions of their memory problems have yet to be backed up with concrete test results. Researchers tested students on short term memory with quizzes which tested the student’s ability to remember lists, phone numbers, and faces. Some of the researchers argued that this was not a real life test because all the students had similar results.
Head of the study Timothy Barth, PH.D., stated that measuring everyday memory is difficult to perform and recommended further research be done to test memory and behavior in subjects ingesting varying amounts of aspartame. As a result, researchers believe the occasional ingestion of aspartame will not cause memory problems that are noticeable. The students who reported problems were consuming at least four diet drinks per day.
The brain has an amazing ability to protect its self from small amounts of aspartame, but large amounts along with stress can have adverse affects on the brain. Children, the elderly, and those with brain injuries are most at risk. The researchers in these studies did comment that occasional consumption of aspartame is ok, but all the researchers performing the tests do not consume diet sodas at all.
If you are worried about the affects of aspartame on your body and are not sure you currently consume too much, cut aspartame out completely for a week or two and see if your memory improves. Other factors like diet can affect your memory; researchers at General Mills showed that eating breakfast can boost memory in studies on elderly and children. Researchers are unsure why breakfast boosts memory, possibly because we do not eat for 7 – 8 hours through the night. Further research needs to be preformed on how protein, fat, and carbohydrates affect memory.
One more factor that might preserve memory is an antioxidant rich diet. Several studies have shown positive results when one consume foods rich in antioxidants. It’s important to take vitamin A, C, and E in supplement form; these vitamins are great antioxidants which may help preserve memory. Also, eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Great supplements like vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E can be found at your local or internet health food store.
Visit VitaNet Health Foods, VitaNet sells high quality supplements like Solaray Buffered Vitamin C. Please link to this site when using this article.
